Eating food and talking with friends is normally a social event, but Elizabethton’s Kiwanis Club has turned the tradition into a long-standing fundraiser opportunity for more than five decades.

Richard Barker has been organizing the National Pancake Day for the past 25 years. This will be the Kiwanis Club’s 56th year hosting the breakfast.

“This has become our largest fundraiser,” Barker said.

The club hosts the breakfast in order to raise money for a variety of youth programs in Elizabethton, including the Headstart Program and K-Kids Outreach.

The event actually started with John Tetrick, who began the program in 1963.

“The pancake breakfast was his brainchild,” Barker said.

During the breakfast, the Kiwanis Club will serve pancakes and sausage, as well as a variety of breakfast beverages. The club will also be selling Christmas ornaments, which is yet another fundraiser.

“We raised roughly $3,000 during last year’s breakfast,” he said.

The club advertises its breakfast in newspapers and flyers weeks prior, but this year, the 90th anniversary of the Kiwanis Club, the group received an opportunity to advertise their event on local TV as well.

“They reached out to us, actually,” Barker said. “It was a big deal.”

The club works closely with other organizations as well, including Rotary.

“It is really fun working with them,” he said. “We often hold joint sessions with Rotary. We see a bit of their perspective, and they can see a bit of our perspective. It makes our manpower go farther.”

The club holds other fundraisers throughout the year as well. In addition to selling Christmas ornaments during the holidays, they also hold a chili dinner during early December.

“We usually host it the night of the Christmas parade,” Barker said.

Barker said the club raised about $7,500 in total from last year’s fundraisers.

“There is a great deal of satisfaction from the community,” he said. “The community says they appreciate the support.”

This year’s breakfast will take place Saturday, Nov. 17, at First United Methodist Church.

Barker said the breakfast a good way to interact with people while supporting the community.

“You can enjoy a good breakfast while supporting youth programs at the same time,” he said.